The story behind the dish: salt beef bagel

When you think of New York City, it's Central Park, the Empire State Building and undoubtedly bagels that spring to mind. Our love of those doughy rings runs deep. And while the Big Apple is associated with salmon and cream cheese bagels, there's another traditional filling too. Salt – or corned – beef makes for another classic topping, especially when done properly like the SALTED bagel fromTwo Men Bagel House.

From Eastern Europe to America

A post shared by Twomen-BagelHouse (@twomenbagelhouse) on Mar 18, 2017 at 7:14am PDT

There's two core parts to a salt beef bagel: the meat, and the bread. First, let's talk about bagels. These round bread rolls have been made for centuries, but originally come from Jewish communities in eastern Europe. The first recorded bagel was made in Krakow in 1610, so there's been at least 400 years of perfecting this baked good.

Bagels are different to normal bread, though – bagel dough is formed into that trademark shape and dropped into boiling water before baking. It's this bizarre method that gives bagels their unique texture, which is soft, chewy and moreish. As Jewish people emigrated to different countries, they brought their cuisine with them. That's how bagels made it to the UK and America, and eventually became brunch's trendiest dish.

Deli delights

A post shared by Twomen-BagelHouse (@twomenbagelhouse) on Sep 19, 2016 at 4:36am PDT

Salt beef has less clear origins. Its name describes how it was originally cured – using large quantities of salt.

Proper salt beef doesn't come out a can, though. It's a delicatessen specialty, made by carefully cooking beef brisket for hours until it's properly soft, flakey and salty. And this is the kind of salt beef you'll get in authentic bagel bars across London, New York, Montreal and, of course, Singapore.

A post shared by Twomen-BagelHouse (@twomenbagelhouse) on Nov 18, 2016 at 12:21am PST

Now we've looked at how salt beef and bagels came to be, imagine the combination of them. Think about a tender melt-in-your mouth beef brisket, packed in between a freshly baked warm bagel. There's briny gherkins, a smear of American mustard, and gooey Swiss cheese oozing over the beef.

Two Men Bagel House are dedicated to making the best bagels in town. SALTED is their take on this classic dish, named for the saltiness of the beef. Pick one up for breakfast, keep it as a lunch al desko, or order it to your office for a mid-afternoon snack. Bagels don't get better than this.

This classic salt beef bagel flies off the shelves – order early and beat the rush atTwo Men Bagel House.